Danny King

Early life & background

Danny Robert King was born on 14 August 1986 in Maidstone, Kent.

He made his British league debut back in 2001 with the Peterborough Panthers’ junior side (Peterborough II) and progressed steadily through youth tiers.

In 2004 he claimed the British Under-18 Championship title — early signs of his ambition and talent.

Career progression & major achievements

Danny’s career has many highlights — here are some of the key moments:

After his youth success, he spent multiple seasons with the Ipswich Witches (starting with them in 2003) and many other clubs, showing both breadth and depth in his experience.
A career-defining moment came in 2016 when Danny became British Champion, winning the British Speedway Championship at Belle Vue.
Internationally, Danny has represented Great Britain, and in 2016 he helped the team win a silver medal at the Speedway World Cup.
More recently, he has enjoyed team success as well: Captaining the Ipswich Witches, and also delivering silverware with the Poole Pirates in the Championship tier (league & knockout cup doubles in 2021/22) while balancing roles in top flight competition.

Style, character & what he brings

Danny King brings several distinctive qualities:

Leadership: As captain of Ipswich, he set a tone for commitment, professionalism and experience in the team.
Resilience: One of his recent seasons was hampered by a serious fractured hand that required surgery — yet he fought back to secure his return to Ipswich in 2025.
Winning mindset: From under-18 champion through to British Champion and team honours, Danny has shown that he wants and can deliver.
Danny is the experienced backbone, the one who knows how to win and lead.

Mark Phillips (Promotor)

Mark Phillips has been the driving force behind the Plymouth Gladiators’ resurgence since taking the helm in 2016. A former rider himself, Mark understands the speedway world from the inside-out. Under his leadership the club has invested in facility improvements, forged headline signings (including a three-time World Champion), and regained Championship status. Mark says proudly: ‘I want everyone in speedway to be talking about Plymouth.’ It’s a mission that is raising expectations, and as we enter another season, the club is ready to go after bigger targets. Off-track, Mark remains grounded in gratitude: he frequently acknowledges the thousands of volunteer hours, the loyal fans and the sponsors — all crucial to keeping the Gladiators competitive in challenging times

Scott Nicholls

Early life & background

Scott Karl Nicholls was born on 16 May 1978 in Ipswich, Suffolk.
He began his motorsport journey on grasstrack as a schoolboy national champion in 1993 (before fully committing to speedway) and quickly made his mark in youth categories.

He moved into senior British speedway in the mid-1990s and by the late 1990s was under-21 British Champion (1998, 1999) – showing he had elite potential early.

Career development & major achievements

Scott’s career is one of consistency at a high level plus milestone-winning. Some of the standout bits:

He won the British Under-21 Championship in 1998 & 1999.
Remarkably he became a seven-time British Champion (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012) — making him the most successful rider in the history of that title.
He was a full-time competitor in the Speedway Grand Prix series from 2002 through 2008, with multiple high finishes (e.g., 2nd in Australia 2002, 2nd in Slovenia 2007) showing his international calibre.
His club-career is lengthy and varied: Riding for top British clubs like Coventry Bees (2005-07 among others), Ipswich Witches (early career), Belle Vue Aces (2014-16) and later for Oxford Cheetahs and more.
Even later, he continued riding into his 40s — showing durability and passion for the sport.

In November 2024 he confirmed he will miss the start of the 2025 season due to shoulder surgery, an indication of how hard-won his years have been.

Style, character & what he brings

Scott is the “big-name” veteran: Having won multiple British titles, raced at the very top of the sport, and stayed active into the later phase of his career, he brings leadership, experience and gravitas.

For our club and fans: his presence alone adds a level of prestige. He represents what many riders aspire to — national dominance plus international competitiveness.

Beyond medals: there are also stories of personal sacrifice/resilience. For example, he spoke openly about the emotional moment he told his father (who was his engine tuner) that he needed to move to a professional tuner as he stepped into the Grand Prix arena.

He has seen the full spectrum: junior success, national dominance, international competition, club-commitments, injury battles.

DATE OF BIRTH: 16 May 1978, Ipswich, Suffolk.

BRITISH CAREER: (1994) Peterborough; (1995-98) Ipswich; (1999-2000) Poole; (2001-04) Ipswich; (2005-07) Coventry; (2008) Eastbourne; (2009) Coventry, Ipswich; (2010) Ipswich; (2011) Swindon; (2012-13) Coventry); (2014-16) Belle Vue; (2017) Rye House; (2018) Leicester, Rye House, Peterborough; (2019) Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Leicester; (2021) Peterborough, Kent; (2022) Peterborough, Oxford; (2023) Wolverhampton, Oxford; (2024) Birmingham, Oxford II; (2025) Plymouth.

MAJOR HONOURS: British Under-21 Champion: 1998, 1999; British Champion: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012; Czech Golden Helmet Champion: 2005.

CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2005 [Coventry], 2007 [Coventry], 2019 [Leicester], 2021 [Peterborough]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2006 [Coventry], 2007 [Coventry], 2008 [Eastbourne]; Craven Shield winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2007 [Coventry]; Elite Shield winner: 2006 [Coventry]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2018 [Peterborough]; Championship Shield winner: 2019 [Leicester].

GRAND PRIX RECORD: 82 GPs ridden, 9 GP finals, 0 GP wins, 631 GP points.

WORLD CUP RECORD: 19 meetings, 192 points, 1 Silver medal, 1 Bronze medal.

RIDER LINKS: Brother of Shaun Nicholls (born: 30 November 1971, Ipswich, Suffolk).